Wednesday, May 14, 2014

My family has used cloth napkins for years now. They are such a blessing! They save money, look nice and are great for the environment! Do you realize that when you go to a *nicer* restaurant, you are given cloth napkins! Treat yourself at home too! Not only will your meals seem more elegant but your wallet will thank you!

Although they aren't ironed right now, I *do* enjoy ironing our cloth napkins. It's easy to do and it makes them look so nice (especially if we are having company).

Although you can easily sew your own, if you don't want to do that...definitely check out etsy! They have some super cute ones (although you may need to search around for a good price...some of them can be kinda pricey).

I like THESE red ticking ones...or THESE green ones!THIS set of 12 pink vintage cloth napkins are a good price!THIS set of cloth napkins are screened with the word "eat"! How fun!
Do you like the color yellow...or lemons, perhaps? If so, check out THESE cloth napkins!
I am loving THESE black and white gingham check napkins!

We reserve these napkins for meals. To clean up spills we have other rags to use (paper towels are used sometimes for the really gross messes that inevitably happen from time to time in a family's life). Any dish cloths or dish towels that have faded from use over time end up retiring to the rag pile. They get used to dust, wash floors, windows and walls and clean up messes. :)

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

We have chickens so we get fresh eggs daily! Fresh eggs are the best (and healthiest) for you! We enjoy eggs fried, scrambled, hard-boiled and more! Hard boiling fresh eggs is quite the chore though because it makes them terribly difficult to peel (and they don't end up very pretty if you want to make deviled eggs!).

I was so excited when I came across THIS link which said we should STEAM fresh eggs! I got out my steamer/double boiler and brought water to a boil...then I put a dozen eggs in the steamer basket and placed it in the pot and covered it. I let it boil at least 20 minutes and then immediately put the eggs into a bowl of freezing ice-water (pictured above). This shocks them and helps with the peeling process as well.

I was over-joyed to find my eggs peeled with incredible ease! These are fresh (only a day or two old) eggs that normally would be terrible to peel! Steaming and blanching works wonderfully!

If your family is a fan of deviled eggs, HERE is a link to the *best* tasting deviled eggs ever! I think the vinegar gives it the perfect little zip!

Have you ever hard-steamed your eggs?
What are some of your favorite ways to eat your eggs?